Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. J
History of creation and combat usage Development The Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank, or the Panzer III was developed in the 1930s. Starting in early 1934, Heinz Guderian set down some specifications for a new tank, which Army Weapons Department took up to design the tank to weigh no more than 24,000 kilograms with a top speed of 35 km per hour. This tank's role was to be the main tank of the German army and was expected to destroy opposing tanks, as opposed as a tank made to destroy anti-tank guns and opposing infantrymen, which the Panzer IV took up in. Damlier-Benz, Krupp, MAN, and Rheinmetall produced prototypes meeting the specifications and the Damlier-Benz model was chosen after testing in 1936-1937. The Panzer III model used a leaf-spring suspension in its early models (Ausf. A - Ausf. D) before utilizing a six-wheeled torsion-bar suspension in the Ausf. E and beyond. The Panzer III had a crew of five people, the commander, gunner, loader, driver, and assistant driver. The best feature of the Panzer III during its introduction that is the most overlooked was the three-man turret, which was not as common at the time. This frees the commander to be able to effectively command the tank while maintaining situational awareness rather than be burdened by the role of a loader or gunner, improving combat effectiveness of the tank. Despite this rather advance design, the turret did not have a turret basket for the crew. It was a proven design and production began in May 1937. The total number of Panzer IIIs tanks constructed in its production life was 5,774 units (excluding StuG III variant). Specifications The Panzer III started with only 15 mm of armor on all sides, this was quickly upgraded to 30 mm on front, side, and rear on the Ausf. D, E, F, and G models. Then the Ausf. H placed an additional 30 mm of armor onto the front hull as an interim solution before the Panzer III Ausf. J gave the Panzer III a 50 mm armor thickness on the front and rear. The Panzer III Ausf. J still retained the 50 mm KwK 38 cannon from the Ausf. F, which provided much needed firepower over the 37 mm KwK 36. The Panzer Ausf. J had a 300 PS Maybach HL 120 TRM engine that gave it a top speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph) with a operational range of 155 km (96 mi.). Combat Usage The Panzer III Ausf. J gave the German army better armor for their Panzer III and with a better gun. However, it was still considered undergunned to the Soviet contemporary T-34 and KV-1 tanks as the 50 mm KwK 38 was not powerful enough to penetrate these tanks frontally with normal ammo. This requires the use of APCR, which was in low supply. The Soviet T-26 and BT series light tanks were still easily taken care of and were still in larger quantities than the T-34s and KVs, but T-34 production was kicking off and it won't be long before the T-34 becomes the main tank of the Red Army. The Panzer III still needed improvements if it ever was to go up against the more modern tanks and Germany needed it to stay in service as long as possible as their new tanks are being developed. The next variant featured additional armor and a better 50 mm cannon, the 50 mm KwK 39, on the Panzer III Ausf. J1. The armor had an additional 20 mm offset armor in the front hull and turret, plus the 50 mm KwK 39 featured a longer barrel than the 50 mm KwK 38, increasing its penetration values.